The new charges prompted Butte County Superior Court Judge Clare Keithley to cancel a preliminary hearing set for today in the case of Christopher Stephen Carter. She set a hearing next Tuesday for Carter to enter a plea on the new counts.

Defense attorney Jesse Santana told the court he is considering filing a demurrer, challenging the legitimacy of the new charges. The judge must rule on a demurrer before the defendant enters a plea.

The defendant was initially charged with four counts — continuous sexual abuse of a girl starting from 2000, lewd acts after she turned 14 in July 2007 and unlawful sexual intercourse from July 2009 when she turned 16 through June 21 of this year. He is also charged with mingling a harmful substance with food for another female victim.

Outside of court, deputy district attorney Jennifer Dupre-Tokos said the original counts were based on initial reports. The new charges more accurately reflect Carter”s alleged conduct after interviewing the alleged victims and providing discovery evidence to the defense.

The prosecution”s new complaint contains 40 counts. Dupre-Tokos said about five would be cut in an update filed today intended to clarify the charges.

The prosecution will ultimately charge Carter with an overall count of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 from 1998 until July 2007. Related to the overall charge, the prosecution alleges numerous individual lewd acts with a child under 14 and oral copulation.

If the case reaches trial, a jury would first consider the overall continuous sexual abuse allegation. If the jury finds the defendant not guilty of the overall charge, it may consider the individual allegations as alternate charges.

In addition to the alleged actions before the girl turned 14, Carter is also charged with oral copulation of person under 16 and under 18, unlawful sexual penetration of a minor, two counts of forcible rape, two counts of lewd acts when the child was 14 and 15, and sexual battery by restraint.

Carter also remains charged with unlawful sexual intercourse and mingling a harmful substance with food.

In court Wednesday, Santana initially objected to the new complaint because of when it was filed. He said he didn”t have enough time to research the new charges to adequately represent his client.

Dupre-Tokos said she had notified Santana she would file additional charges and discovery evidence provided to the defense covers the new allegations. Santana said the notice of new charges was submitted last week.

Judge Keithley ruled she would accept the prosecution”s new complaint, but would give the defense time to respond. She noted the information from the complaint was important for preliminary hearings, which are set to determine if there is sufficient evidence to hold a defendant for trial.

Santana also argued it was inappropriate for Carter to be charged more than once for continuous sexual abuse, as he is in the current complaint. He also objected to specifying individual allegations unless they were alternate charges to the overall continuous abuse charge.

Those concerns should be addressed in Dupre-Tokos” update.

In addition to the current case, Carter faces felony charges in two additional criminal cases.

In one case, Carter was charged after he allegedly sought payment for an incomplete construction project. The other case, it is alleged that Carter stole water service at his house.

Carter also faces a civil lawsuit filed by the two alleged victims in the sex abuse case.

Staff writer Ryan Olson can be reached at 896-7763 or rolson@chicoer.com.